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RobertJDFL, Attorney

Category: Legal

Satisfied Customers: 13857

Experience: Experienced in multiple areas of the law.

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Had an operation in March, and is now in worse shape .He is

Customer Question

had an operation in March, and is now in worse shape .He is in constant pain who do we hold responsible, and what can we do?JA: What state are you in? It matters because laws vary by location.Customer: CalifJA: Has anything been filed or reported?Customer: no but we have been to see a surgon specialistJA: Anything else you want the lawyer to know before I connect you?Customer: yes when he was having his operatio the surgeon saw a problem and attempted to fix it, but was unsuccessful, and just left it. Did not even mention it to us. And again my husband is in constant pain.

I'm sorry to hear about your husband's condition. He may have a claim for medical malpractice (medical negligence). Under California law, within one year of when a plaintiff discovers, or should have discovered the error, you may bring a claim for medical malpractice.

The following elements must be present to file a medical malpractice lawsuit:

1) There is a doctor-patient relationship. You can only hold a physic***** *****able for medical malpractice if you hired the doctor and he agreed to be hired to treat you for your illness or injury. If he is not responsible for your treatment, there is no doctor-patient relationship.

2) The doctor/medical professional/hospital was negligent. A doctor or a health care provider may be considered negligent if the care or treatment provided deviated from accepted standards of practice in the medical community. His diagnosis and treatment should be “reasonably skillful and careful”. In other words, it's not enough that surgery was unsuccessful, as no doctor can guarantee results. They have to deviate from the accepted standard of care. This generally may only be proven by other medical experts.

3) The doctor’s incompetence or negligence directly caused the injury or death of the patient.

4) That such injury or harm caused by the doctor led to loss and expenses on the part of the patient. Expense can be things like the need for further surgery or treatment, lost wages, and pain and suffering.

The following circumstances may give rise to a medical malpractice claim:

- Failure to properly or timely diagnose the patient’s illness.- Providing incompetent treatment or improperly administers a correct treatment. - Failure to warn patients of known risks in a procedure or course of treatment.

Medical malpractice suits are generally taken on a contingency basis. That means that if you a lawyer takes your husband's case, you would pay no fees or costs unless they recover money for you.

As you don't have much time left to potentially file a suit, I would urge your husband to meet with a medical malpractice lawyer or two in your area to go over the specifics of his condition to determine if he may have a valid legal claim.

ok. this is great news as we thought there was only 6 months to file a claim. We do not know exactily what the problem is as he has only seen one sugeon specialist thus far. What do we do about this ? and in our area it is the most desolate place in Calif., ie- there are no lawyers that handle this type of case in our town. Finding one to take medical malpractice is difficult enough on its own, but finding one willing to travel such a distance on contingency is almost impossible. Do you have any suggestions?

My apologies for not getting back to you right away. I had to step out for an appointment before you replied, and then the site was having some temporary technical issues and I couldn't access anything.

It would behoove your husband to see another doctor or specialist who could render an opinion that his previous doctor did something wrong. Certainly that is going to be one of the first questions that a lawyer asks you, whether another doctor believes a mistake was made or something wasn't done properly.

The California Bar has a lawyer referral service that may be able to help you find a lawyer in your area or close by. Unfortunately, we are not permitted, per site rules, to recommend specific lawyers or firms. You may also want to check www.avvo.com (look under medical malpractice or personal injury) for a lawyer. Attorneys on Avvo are rated by their peers and past clients, and cannot buy a good rating, so you get to see real thoughts and opinions.